So as some will remember I'm the guy who purchased a brand new 2015 TT, and was sorely disappointed with the performance of the factory 8,000 btu wall unit.. After going back and forth with the dealer/manufacturer it because obvious this was a me issue and not a they issue. So I found a 12,000 btu unit that was similar in hight, and width, but 6 inches longer in depth.. I spent all day rengnering the box that holds the ac and did get it monted., Great news is when I'm done it should look close to factory., So my questions/issues. 1) about two weeks ago another member posted a question about the black vent on the roof of his unit above the ac.. The general consensus was that it was a vent for the AC so it could breath.. When I removed my unit from the hole, I was surprised to see a solid roof above it.. No vent at all??? Is this an oversite or is this correct ?? I also have the vent on mine. 2) after getting the unit up and secure the first thing I did was plug it in to see if it worked.. It would run for about a min and then click the compressor off, and then start the compressor again about 3-4 min later for another min. At first I'm thinking FUDGE bad unit.. However after thinking about it some more, I was running the unit on a very long extension cord then thrugh a 15 amp-30amp adaptor. Could my issues be due to a power issue?? I tried another extension cord which I think is a higher gauge with a built in curcut beaker and it tripped after about 3 min., if that helpsThanks again in advance. I have a few other questions I'm trying to figure out. Will post later.

15 amp is probably not enough for a 12000 BTU A/C especially if you are at any altitude. 9200 is about the max for 15 amps. The wiring can catch fire if you use an adapter and plug into 15 amp service. I remember a dealer using a 15 amp adapter on a unit with a 13.5 A/C and stuffing it in the power box. It caught the RV on fire. Some modern RV A/C's will shut down if they cannot draw enough current to run, before the breaker at the other end pops, even. I think that is your problem. As to the venting, You have to vent it somewhere. A/C's produce heat, which is how they cool. Surely it vents outside through the wall.

Tequila wrote:15 amp is probably not enough for a 12000 BTU A/C especially if you are at any altitude. 9200 is about the max for 15 amps. The wiring can catch fire if you use an adapter and plug into 15 amp service. I remember a dealer using a 15 amp adapter on a unit with a 13.5 A/C and stuffing it in the power box. It caught the RV on fire. Some modern RV A/C's will shut down if they cannot draw enough current to run, before the breaker at the other end pops, even. I think that is your problem. As to the venting, You have to vent it somewhere. A/C's produce heat, which is how they cool. Surely it vents outside through the wall.Yes it vents out the back, but the rest of the unit is boxed in.. I assumed the vent on the roof was to allow air flow to the rest of the box, again I always just assumed there was a hole above the unit where air could get in and out. I guess I was wrong.

Your second issue sounds like not enough power. I've tried running my 13.5k BTU ac at the house on a 15 amp and it will run but the compressor short cycles and the air isn't as cool. Get a better power source and try again. I predict the unit will run fine.

the roof vent may be for an ac unit with vents along the sides for air to flow into the condenser (cooling air)... the hot condenser air then is blown out the rear of the ac unit... the front panel is usually a dual function, (hot air in and cool air out)..

A/C units generally do not take air from the outside and blow it inside unless it has a vent setting which is not the fan setting (auto a/c not included). Air is recycled within the space to be cooled. The air inlet inside is where you find the filter which filters (duh) the air prior to going through the blower and onto the evaporator coils which is the part that actually cools (or removes the heat from the air) and then out the vents. The outside condenser is air cooled via a fan. So yes, the outside air is kept separated from the inside air.

AC upgrade, questions and issues. | Good Sam Community

Mr__C
Explorer
Aug 01, 2014
Whatever became of this? Was there a design flaw that didn't allow the A/C to breathe?
tempforce
Explorer
Jul 02, 2014
i used a honda eu2000 with my 15,000 btu roof air conditioner. still had enough extra power to operate a small t.v.
BubbaChris
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
Quick suggestion on trying the new A/C unit - can you rent a 4000W or higher generator for a day or two while testing?
Gsragtop
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
Did not try it before install, it was new so I figured it should work.. The dealer does not know about the vent, I'm gonna call gulf stream tomorrow and see if they can give me an answer on the vent..
Mr__C
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
Gsragtop wrote:
I'm going to try and clear things up.. The front of the units, sucks and blows as it should.. The back of the unit is vented outside the coach and is where the condenser is..

There are however ribbed vents on both sides of the unit (as with all window ac units) and these vents are not open to any real airflowthese vents are not open to any real airflow.. I had assumed the roof vent allows airflow into the box that houses the ac unit.. That is why I was surprised to see no holes for the box to vent out of.

If it helps this is the unit I got

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Whirlpool-High-Efficiency-12-000-BTU-115V-Window-Mounted-Air-Conditioner-with-Remote-Control-ACQ128GPW/25394510

I understand. It needs airflow. Does the unit run OK if it's not installed in the trailer? What does the dealer say about the a/c vent?
Gsragtop
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
I'm going to try and clear things up.. The front of the units, sucks and blows as it should.. The back of the unit is vented outside the coach and is where the condenser is..

There are however ribbed vents on both sides of the unit (as with all window ac units) and these vents are not open to any real airflow.. I had assumed the roof vent allows airflow into the box that houses the ac unit.. That is why I was surprised to see no holes for the box to vent out of.

If it helps this is the unit I got

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Whirlpool-High-Efficiency-12-000-BTU-115V-Window-Mounted-Air-Conditioner-with-Remote-Control-ACQ128GPW/25394510
Mr__C
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
If the condenser portion of the unit does not have proper airflow, the compressor is going to overheat and trip out on thermal overload or high pressure. The condenser fan needs to pull air from outside. I'm suspecting the factory forgot to do something.
cmack
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
A/C units generally do not take air from the outside and blow it inside unless it has a vent setting which is not the fan setting (auto a/c not included). Air is recycled within the space to be cooled. The air inlet inside is where you find the filter which filters (duh) the air prior to going through the blower and onto the evaporator coils which is the part that actually cools (or removes the heat from the air) and then out the vents. The outside condenser is air cooled via a fan. So yes, the outside air is kept separated from the inside air.
tempforce
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
the roof vent may be for an ac unit with vents along the sides for air to flow into the condenser (cooling air)... the hot condenser air then is blown out the rear of the ac unit...
the front panel is usually a dual function, (hot air in and cool air out)..
Drew_K
Explorer
Jun 29, 2014
Your second issue sounds like not enough power. I've tried running my 13.5k BTU ac at the house on a 15 amp and it will run but the compressor short cycles and the air isn't as cool. Get a better power source and try again. I predict the unit will run fine.